


After the Arrest

by Doug48



Series: Zoo 1.1 [5]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Drama, Everyone lives, Gen, No Smut, canon compliant I think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 00:58:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11219907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doug48/pseuds/Doug48
Summary: This is how I saw the time immediately after Bellweather's arrest.





	After the Arrest

"It’s called a hustle, sweetheart,” Judy said, looking up at Mayor Bellweather. "Boom." 

We saw Bellweather's eyes go large and round as she realized what was happening. She glanced left and right and then, too late, decided to run. But the Zootopian police had already arrived and the lamb found herself looking up at Bogo’s face and crossed arms and she surrendered. Seeing all the huge cops around her, including a buffalo, an elephant, and at least one rhino, I thought this was very sensible. 

In the exhibition pit, I looked at Judy as she put the recorder pen back in her pocket. “Now what?” I ask.

“Nick, now, anything is possible!” 

That’s Judy, or Carrots, as I call her. Always the rabbit optimist. As it turned out, “anything” involved, first, getting out of the pit. This was easier than expected because there was a maintenance door that one of the cops found and opened to let us out. Then we had to tell a bunch of mammals, including the chief of police and the head of the city council, what had happened and what we had seen. Bogo had heard some of it, but the head of the council had not. His main concern was transition now that both Mayor Lionheart AND former Assistant [then Actual and now Former] Mayor Bellweather could no longer govern. Not from a prison cell where he was, and she was going, and not from the back of the police car where she was about to be. 

A few hours later, I'm sitting on the back bumper of one of the ambulances after having been checked out by a paramedic. This one was a deer and he said I was fine, but noted that I had an odd bruise on my left arm, so I told him that probably happened during my fall into the pit. I'm spending my time alternating between watching various mammals wander around looking lost and watching the ambulance that had taken Judy. I know she will emerge eventually and then we need to talk, but I'm still not sure what to say. 

'You changed my life' sounds so silly. And then what do I say? She wants me to be a cop and I don’t even know if I can do that because I’ve been a con-mammal all my life. Now I’m supposed to get a job and pay taxes? Damn! Taxes. Almost forgot about that. Will they even let me in the police academy with that hanging over my head?

Chief Bogo was also walking around and I saw him check on Bellweather and then head over to the ambulance I was watching. Foxes can’t hear the way elephants and bunnies do, so I couldn't hear what they said to each other, but I could tell a great deal from body language. 

I had no trouble seeing him. He looked impatient the way he often does, doing that arms crossed thing. I saw the back doors of the ambulance open and his face take on the look of someone receiving a report from an underling. This was Judy, of course. She has no problem thinking of Bogo as her “alpha” or pack leader even though he treated her badly on that first day. The chief nodded a few times and said a few things and listened again. He took no notes. He did glance at me once or twice. Finally he nodded one last time, offered a paw to Judy as she climbed awkwardly down onto the tailgate of her ambulance, handed her something, and then looked fully at me. 

I know what he's thinking. 'Do I really want this loose cannon on my police force? One of them is bad enough, but two of them would be twice as much trouble. On the other hand, they do seem to be VERY GOOD at this, judging by the two corrupt mayors they just brought down and the missing mammals they located.' 

He starts toward me and Judy tries not to be too obvious about listening in. Her ears are up and turned more of less toward me, so I know she will hear every word of my conversation with Bogo. 

What am I going to say? I know who he is and I’m sure he knows who, and what, I am, or at least, what everyone thinks I was until this morning when Judy found me under a bridge. I’m a fox and foxes are sly and sneaky. Everyone, or anyway, everyone but Judy apparently, knows you can’t trust us. Most mammals think we’re no better than weasels in that respect. Of course, I’ve known good and bad foxes and good and bad weasels and good and bad… well, every mammal. 

The buffalo is nearly here so I mentally review all that I’ve been able to learn about him since I found out Judy thought I could be a cop. The next step in my current path is either work for Chief Bogo or work for someone very like him, so I need to know if he can work with me. 

“Fox,” he greets me after he arrives and then stops to glare at me. He’s doing that arms crossed thing again, possibly to intimidate me and thus to more easily control the conversation. This close, I could get some pheromone hints if he was a fellow canidae, but he’s a bovidae, and Judy is a leporidea, so pheromones are no help to me when talking to them. Well, I was a con-mammal, so this sort of interview is something I’ve done at least a hundred times from both sides. There are various opening moves available to me, but Judy is listening and I might be working for this mammal someday soon. 

“Buffalo,” I reply. I see Judy flinch slightly out of the corner of my eye. Bogo just grunts. He was probably expecting something like this. 

“I suppose I should learn your name? Maybe you’ll even learn mine as well.” He’s grinning, but this is obviously not a joke. Not even a little bit. 

Again, there are several things I could say. Some words would be very satisfying temporarily, but very stupid. This is a job interview, not improv night at the comedy club, so I keep it professional. “I am Nickolas Wilde. Former con-mammal and currently a free agent. My most recent job involved helping Judy Hopps gather evidence against two mayors. Before that, I worked in various fields acquiring a number of valuable skills. 

“You are Mason Bogo. Currently police chief of Zootopian Police Department District 1, the ‘flagship’ district….” I then go on to supply various names and dates and accomplishments related to his education and career over the past couple of decades. Data collection and analysis is my skill, after all, and I want him to know I’m good at it. As a fox, I’ve never been formerly educated the way he and Judy have been, but it's important to me to do it well because I feel like I have more to prove. I’m also careful to make sure he thinks that his accomplishments have impressed me, even though I’m really far more interested in his interpersonal 'soft,' skills. My jury is still out on the impressed thing.

He grunts again, but he seems to be more thoughtful now. “Officer Hopps gave me a very thorough review of your skills, Mr. Wilde, so I suppose this demonstration shouldn’t have surprised me. She also suggested that you would make an excellent addition to the ZPD. I understand you filled out an application form? Of course, you understand that you’ll have to do what I say and call me ‘sir’ or at least ‘chief’ if you’re one of my officers. I will allow some slack if you’re a good enough performer, but there are limits and all officers will respect the chain of command or they will work, or not, elsewhere.”

“Officer Hopps?” I ask, sparring for time. 

“Yes. She tried to resign and I didn’t accept it. I kept her badge in my desk with the expectation that she would want it back sometime; possibly today. She says she kept your application, and I assume it’s correctly filled out?”

I nod, thinking about the part I had to cross out, and he continues.

“You’ve seen what this job will involve. Also, you must enter and graduate from the Police Academy and you must do well enough to choose your assignment if you’re going to keep working this closely with Hopps. I assume that’s what you want? On that subject, I want to be very clear that I don’t want you on my team if you’re only becoming a cop to make someone else happy. I want you to want it for yourself or not at all. You can still see your friend even if she is a cop and you’re a used car sales mammal or whatever.” I could see he didn't have a high opinion of sales mammals for some reason or other, so I had an opening and I used it.

“I can’t really see myself as a car sales mammal, sir.”

“Well, you know what I mean. The next class starts in three months and you’ll want to start getting in shape so you can do well. I’m sure Hopps can give you all sorts of guidance on THAT subject and possibly several others.” He looks at his watch and then around at the other vehicles. “I see several of my mammals that need something to do, so I’ll leave you to think about my offer. Do not wait too long.”

“Right.” I toss him a kind of salute that he then ignores as he walks away. He knows what I’m going to do, even if I haven’t admitted it to myself yet.

I see Carrots signaling to me, so I drop off the bumper on to my feet, put my hands in my pockets, and saunter over to her. This has been a good day so far, and I’m looking forward to officially telling my, probably, new partner.

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think? This is my first work and I have so far only shown it to two people, and now, to you.


End file.
